OVERCOMING IMPLEMENTATION BARRIERS WITHIN THE FIRE SERVICE TO REDUCE FIREFIGHTER CANCER RATES

Occupational cancer has become the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths within the United States fire service. This epidemic claims the lives of hundreds of firefighters each year, even though the fire service has developed best practices to prevent occupational cancers. This thesis identifies seven barriers that are preventing fire departments from implementing best practices: fire department culture, firefighters’ ignorance of the disease and prevention methods, complacency caused by cancer’s long latency periods, funding, pathways to compliance with national and departmental policies, groupthink, and motivation. To explain how fire departments can overcome these barriers, this thesis examines the health and safety efforts that two departments have taken and reviews literature from other fire departments, national fire service organizations, subject-matter experts, researchers, and academic studies. This research shows that when fire departments provide their members with the proper tools, training, education, and awareness, they can rise to the occasion and implement best practices to prevent occupation-related cancer.

Department dc:contributor.department

National Security Affairs (CHDS)

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Haseney, John J.

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Woodbury, Glen L.
• Halladay, Carolyn C.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/65541

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/65541